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NFL Week 1 Pick: Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos

The Chargers start their new Los Angeles Era – they also played in L.A. their first season in the AFL in 1960 -- with a trip to AFC West rival Denver in our only Monday Night Football nightcap of the year.

Well, if the warm-weather Chargers are going to visit Denver, better on Sept. 11 than on, say, Dec. 11 when the conditions probably aren’t as temperate in the Mile High City. Survivor Pick: Broncos.

Trevor Siemian starts at quarterback for Denver. It’s thought that GM John Elway was hoping Paxton Lynch, his 2016 first-round pick, would win the job this preseason because Lynch’s ceiling is considered much higher than Siemian’s. But first-year coach Vance Joseph named Siemian his guy after two preseason games as the offense clearly moved better under him. Lynch is hurt now, too. The Chargers will open their season without their top two draft picks from this year in Clemson receiver Mike Williams and Western Kentucky offensive lineman Forrest Lamp. Both were being counted on to start, but Lamp’s season is over with a torn ACL and Williams won’t ready until at least October with back troubles. This will be the “full” head coaching debut of the Chargers’ Anthony Lynn. He served as Buffalo’s interim coach for Week 17 last year. The Bills were expected by many to hire Lynn for the full-time job. Lynn’s final two seasons as a player in the NFL were as a reserve on Elway’s two Super Bowl winning teams in Denver.

Denver’s defense was the NFL’s best in 2015 on the way to winning the Super Bowl. It wasn’t quite as good last year but still fourth in yards allowed, first in passing defense and fourth in scoring (18.6 ppg). The Chargers were not a good defensive team, allowing 26.4 points per game, 29th in the NFL. To be fair, Philip Rivers had way too many turnovers that put the defense in bad field position at times (or Rivers’ turnovers were simply returned for scores). Lynn is a former running backs coach who likely will have his team running the ball more often, especially with Rivers’ turnover issues. The Broncos are going to be that same type of team behind Siemian, who is more a of a game manager like Alex Smith. The Chargers and Broncos split last year. Denver won at home 27-19 in Week 8. The Broncos hit Rivers 17 times, sacked him four times and intercepted three of his passes, including Bradley Roby's 49-yard pick-six.